


Rule #1

by stopwhiningandgotobed (hardlifeyourlife)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Non-Sexual Age Play, Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:14:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22153102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hardlifeyourlife/pseuds/stopwhiningandgotobed
Summary: The group stops for a long rest after it is revealed that Taako is too small to go on.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Rule #1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mcschnuggles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcschnuggles/gifts).



Magnus sat with his back against the tree, Taako pressed up against his chest and his head leaned back against his shoulder. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around his friend, as they listened to Merle whistle from across the fire. 

Their friend was busy cooking some kind of stew with the promise that it would be the best Darvish meal they had ever had. Of course, Taako didn't mention that Merle had never cooked anything good for him before. He was too tired. 

They all were, really, although Merle was probably reenergized by the idea of impressing his friends with a super secret recipe supposedly created by his grandfather. Or something like that. Neither Taako nor Magnus could pay enough attention to understand the thread of the story as Merle told it. 

They had been walking all day, and usually they wouldn't stop like this just to relax. They hadn't run into anything too hard, and they didn't burn any spell slots. 

But, about an hour ago, Taako had tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground. Magnus had immediately been concerned, and put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Hey, everything okay?"

Taako jolted a little bit at the touch, as if he had been asleep. He looked up at Magnus with wide eyes suddenly filled with tears. His voice was soft, almost guilty sounding.

"I think we need a long rest."

And, so, they'd stopped for a long rest. Taako's headspace had obviously dropped at some point without him noticing, and it wouldn't hurt to sit around the fire and have a hot meal. 

Merle started digging in his bag to add yet another unknown ingredient into the pot, startling Taako enough to wake him up from the sleepy lull of being warm and comfortable for the first time all day. He rubbed at his eyes, wishing he had listened when Magnus asked if he wanted to bring a stuffy with him just in case. Taako, wanting to sound cool, had declined. Saying that if he needed one, he would have grabbed one, and 'Listen, I'm a big boy, alright? I don't need my mommy checking my bag to make sure I packed enough underwear.' Really, he'd just forgotten and didn't want to admit it. 

"Hey, doofus. I got ya somethin." Came Lup's voice from the other side of the fire. She reached into her bag and pulled out Taako's stuffy, a medium-sized hedgehog filled with rice instead of stuffing, and tossed it over to him. He tried to catch it but missed, letting out a little cry for help as he watched it plummet towards the ground. 

Magnus, however, moved forward and caught the animal just before it landed. He made it look so easily, reuniting Taako and the animal with a smile on his face. "Don't worry, baby boy, I have proficiency in saving stuffed animals." He said, said with a little laugh, and Taako gave him the stink eye at the joke. 

He cuddled into the animal anyways, burying his face in it's fur and laying back against Magnus' chest, content. 

"Aww, my baby brother is so cute." Lup said, standing up and quickly snapping a photo of them, looking through it to make sure it came out okay. She, in wild contrast to her brother, had not dropped whatsoever. If Magnus ever thought that their headspaces were in sync, this was enough to pop that thought out of his head. "I hope he's rested by tomorrow, though. I really wanted to get out of the woods." 

"Well, it'll be okay," came Merle's reply. "Magnus can just carry him if he's not big by sunrise."

Lup shook her head, looking stern. "No. We have one rule in this house, gentlemen: adventures are for big kids." Her tone left no room for argument. 

Magnus and Merle looked at each other in confusion, silently deciding not to mention the wide variety of adventures they had gone on with and/or because of little Taako.

"But why? Even little Taako is still… not so little. He can still use magic." Magnus defended, and Lup rolled her eyes. 

"It's a long story, okay? We have rules for a reason, don't we, baby brother?" She asked, switching seamlessly into baby talk. 

"Not a baby," he mumbled, although he nodded along with her in agreement. He lifted his sleeve, revealing a white scar on his forearm, pointing at it seriously. "But I'm a big kid, though. I make my own choices." 

"Wait, that happened when you were little? You told me you got that when you were fighting off four dragons using only your cantrips!" Merle exclaimed, almost hurt, although everyone else had seen right through this obvious lie. 

"That's why we don't go on adventures when we're in headspace," Lup continued. "Now, let's eat and go to bed, alright?" Everyone nodded in agreement, a little bit worried about what would happen if they woke up with baby Taako. Would Lup really wait until he was big again to continue the adventure? 

Thankfully, they never had to find out. By the time morning came, Taako was back to his usual self. They started their trek through the woods once again, and as they walked, the twins told them about the adventures that they used to go on when they were younger. And about the fated adventure, where Taako had gotten his scar.


End file.
